Sunday March 05, 2017

This is actually a pretty silly storyآ—I mean, Nintendo fans are smart enough to realize that they can just do a store exchange if there is something they don’t like about their purchase, right? But it does give me an opportunity to ask whether manufacturers should impose a zero-tolerance policy for pixel defects when it’s a low-resolution display, such as the Switch console’s 1280 x 720 screen. I can understand dead pixels on a 4K display (especially since it is harder to see them), but doesn’t stuck or lifeless pixels on a less complex screen suggest a crappier level of manufacturing?

Supplies of Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, are extremely limited at the moment and most people aren’t lucky to have one. But some who have managed to get their gamer mitts on the coveted item are finding dead pixels on the screen. Nintendo’s solution? Just don’t consider it a defect. Nintendo’s official response to the issue of finding a dead pixel on the Switch’s portable screen can be found on its troubleshooting page. It reads in its entirety: Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect. That’s a vague response to what could be a serious issue for some consumers.